Saturday, March 22, 2014

Cesar Chavez,
a feature film on the farmworker leader, was previewed in Berkeley on
March 5 prior to its March 28 national release. Based on the audience
response, the film will help inspire a new generation of young activists
to push for social justice, and will particularly resonate with
Dreamers and others pushing for immigration reform.
The atmosphere
was electric in Berkeley’s California Theater as a full house waited in
anticipation for Diego Luna’s new film, Cesar Chavez. A block long line
of people were turned away, reflecting an interest in the movie that
Luna hoped would return when the film is released in three weeks.
Having spent years researching and thinking about Cesar Chavez for my book, Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW, and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century,
I was intrigued by how a feature film would handle the long and complex
story of the farmworkers movement. And I think it covered the story of
Cesar Chavez himself remarkably well for the years covered in the movie.
http://youtu.be/awP3yXv-4ng

Chavez’s Remarkable Life

Cesar
Chavez’s rise from a young boy carrying cantaloupes in the fields to
one of the nation’s leading labor and social change leaders is a story
that almost defies belief. Among the film’s great strengths is its focus
on how Chavez overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles to build
California’s farmworker movement.
No film on historical events can
provide the detail and nuances of a book, and in this case the facts
overlooked was the critical role of other key leaders in the UFW’s rise.
Dolores Huerta and Fred Ross, Sr. are given very small roles, and the
latter’s role as a mentor to Chavez is not depicted. Former UFW
Organizing Director Marshall Ganz is not even in the movie, which also
excluded were key organizers like Jessica Govea, Eliseo Medina and Leon
Chatfield, to name just a few.
As my own book argues, Cesar Chavez
was a great organizer and leader, but it took other key leaders and a
movement to build the farmworkers movement. Focusing so much on Chavez
does not then explain the movement’s decline (not shown in the movie),
which followed the departure of other key figures.

An Inspiration to Young Activists

The
film should prove a great inspiration to young activists. Latinos
involved with the Dreamers and immigrant rights movement should make
this film required viewing. In fact, anyone working for progressive
change against powerful corporate interests will leave theaters showing
the film more committed and dedicated to their struggle than when they
went in.
Movies that inspire social change activism are not exactly
common in Hollywood. Most films like this are documentaries. I think the
filmmakers made the right decision in making a film that hews to the
truth, includes historical news clips and footage, but uses actors to
dramatize a mass movement.
While I wanted to see more examples of
young people handing out “Boycott Grapes” fliers in front of
supermarkets, as well as more rallies, protests and strategy sessions,
director Luna likely realized that repetition dulls the power of these
images. Cesar’s pilgrimage to Sacramento, his fast, and his conduct
toward growers are vividly demonstrated, and the scenes with the great
UFW ally Robert Kennedy are some of the most powerful in the film.
Thanks to the UC Berkeley based Center for Latin American Studies
for sponsoring the film’s preview. Be sure to see the film when it
reaches theaters on March 28. It will have you shouting “Si Se Puede” as
the credits roll.